Finland, the “Land of Hundred Thousand Lakes”

Finland (Finnish: Suomi), officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country located in Northern Europe. Finland shares land borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north and is bordered by the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south that are part of the Baltic Sea.Finland has a population of around 5.5 million. The main language is Finnish, Swedish is the second official language of Finland, and is mainly spoken in certain coastal areas of the country and on Åland autonomous island. Finland is a parliamentary republic. The climate varies significantly according to latitude, from Southern Finland's humid continental climate to the boreal climate of the north. with significantly much over 100,000 lakes, entitling the denomination of "Land of a Thousand Lakes". Helsinki, the capital of Finland, is the largest metropolitan area with over 1.5 million people, followed by  Tampere and Turku.

 Through Wars into Independence

From the late 13th century, Finland gradually became an integral part of Sweden as a consequence of the Northern Crusades. In 1809, as a result of the Finnish War, Finland was annexed by the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1906, Finland became the first European state to grant all adult citizens the right to vote, and the first in the world to give all adult citizens the right to run for public office. After the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland became independent. In 1918, however, the country went through a devastating civil war and thus divided into two parts, the Reds and the Whites. During World War II, Finland ended up into three successive wars: the Winter War and Continuation War against the Soviet Union as well as the Lapland War against the Nazi Germany. As result of these wars, Finland lost part of its territory, mainly the south-east part of the Karelia region to the Soviet Union but maintained its independence.

 Finland, a Top Performer Worldwide

After World War II, the country rapidly industrialized and developed an advanced economy, while building an extensive welfare state based on the Nordic model, resulting in widespread prosperity and a high per capita income. Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and adopted an official policy of neutrality. Finland joined the OECD in 1969, the NATO Partnership for Peace in 1994, the European Union in 1995, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in 1997, and the Eurozone in 1999.Nowadays, Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life and human development. In 2015, Finland was ranked first in the World Human Capital and the Press Freedom Index and as the most stable country in the world during 2011–2016 in the Fragile States Index, and second in the Global Gender Gap Report. It also ranked first on the World Happiness Report report for 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Endless Exciting and Original Attractions in Summer as in Winter

Though Finland remains relatively unknown for the mainstream and mass tourism, the country has a huge potential and quite many assets to make it an ideal destination for savvy travelers.Finland is endowed of large areas of intact boreal forests and unspoiled wild nature, rivers and much over 100 000 lakes. Some believe that the number of recorded lakes is, in fact, up to 180 000. The north part of Finland, the Finnish Lapland, is a huge atout apart with its original indigenous people, the Sami and their original Sami culture and lifestyle that are based mainly on reindeers farming and economy.Whether you visit Finland in the summer or in the winter, you can be sure to discover quite many charms and attractions that you will not encounter elsewhere. If you are adept of winter and snow sport activities or simply fan of the snow, you come to the right place. The north of Finland within the Arctic Circle is most certainly covered by snow a large part of the year. Beside skiing, dogs or reindeers sledding, spending at least one night in an ice castle room might be an astonishing experience. You may by the same way enjoy, through the room´s transparent roof, the impressively beautiful and energizing Northern or Aurora lights. To complete your Finnish northern experience, head to the town of Rovaniemi, the Gateway to Arctic as the locals love to call it. Here you may visit the Arktikum Science Museum to know more about the Arctic and pay a unique visit to the only one and original Santa Claus Village.

A Summer Paradise along the Coastline and Southern Archipelago

In summer, you are spoiled for choice. You may sail the Finnish southern archipelago that spreads out from the current capital city Helsinki through Finland´s ancient capital and second largest city Turku located at the south-west coast and again all the way along until the autonomous island of Ahvenanmaa or Åland according to its Swedish name, located at a middle way between Sweden and Finland. If fishing is your favorite pastime, head on a cruise for a relaxing vacation of few days to Lakeland Saimaa. Or maybe you want to experience something out norms, that locals call “White Nights”? If that is the case, head to Lapland by flight or overnight train, where the Midnight Sun is absolutely true.By all seasons and times, whether summer or winter, the Finnish Sauna is such experience that a visitor to Finland, for short or longer journey, simply cannot afford. Though Finns have a Sauna for each occasion, particularly, the Midsummer Sauna is a unique experience. If you happen to be in Finland during Christmas, you will experience the Christmas Sauna.Finland is also well-known by its forests and wooden cities. Though you may see wooden cottages almost everywhere in the countryside, there are three medieval Finnish cities that are particularly famous for their wooden towns: Rauma, Porvoo and Naantali. Though the Finnish summer is quite short or maybe because of that, these three towns might be quite crowded in summer, but if you happen to be in Finland in summer, they are unmissable and can offer you a unique experience.